Letter 75 - It was a Big Risk for a 20 year old!

Hello Bregdan Woman!

Ginny here…

I know so many women who, if given the chance, would do something different with their life. They would have made different decisions – followed different paths.

Are you one of them?

Are there times you wonder if you would have the boldness to pursue a completely different direction in your life? The boldness to go against what everyone else believes?

I want to introduce you to a Bregdan Woman who inspired me to step into my life decisions with boldness.

Have you ever had a Mrs. Field’s Chocolate Chip cookie??

Do you envision a grandmotherly sort in a floury apron creating these tasty morsels?

Think again…

Debbi was only 19 years old when she reached a crossroad in her life. She was married to a well-known Economist and Futurist, ten years older. She had quit work to play the role of a conventional wife. She hadn’t expected her decision to deal such a hard blow to her self-esteem. No one seemed to think she had anything to offer other than being a wife – including herself.

One night, at a party, things reached a head. People were falling all over themselves to talk to her husband – they were treating her like she was an absolute zero, walking away from her in most conversations. Until the party host approached her…

The teenager tried to talk to him, answering his barrage of questions. She tried to appear sophisticated, urbane and clever – failing miserably at her attempt to be something she wasn’t.

Her host finally asked, “What do you intend to do with your life?

Debbi was a nervous wreck at this point. She blurted out, “Well, I’m mostly trying to get orientated.”

Her host looked at her with disgust. “The word is oriented,” he snapped. “There is no such word as orientated. Why don’t you learn to use the English language?” He spat out his words and walked away.

Grrr… what a jerk!

Well, you can imagine. . . Debbi was crushed. She cried the entire way home. But somewhere, in the middle of the tears, she made a decision. She would never, never, NEVER let something like that happen again. She was done living in someone else’s shadow. She would find something of her own.

So, yes, the guy was a jerk, but his cruelty inspired her to change her life. Like the Phoenix, she rose from the ashes of his cruelty and became more than that hateful man could have ever hoped to be!

A Bregdan Woman refuses to let anyone but herself define her life!

As Debbi pondered what she was going to do, she thought back to the old boat motor that had accumulated dust in her family’s basement when she was growing up – her parents and 5 girls in a 2-bedroom, 1 bathroom home. Her father was going to buy a boat for that motor someday. He never did. For Debbi, that motor became a symbol of putting off dreams until it’s too late to achieve them.

Debbi had watched her father die with his dreams unfulfilled. She didn’t want the same thing to happen to her. She would do something.

But what???

As she pondered it, she realized the one thing she was really good at was making cookies.

So much of her life had revolved around cookies.

There was no such thing as girls in professional baseball, but Debbi was one of the first “ball girls” hired by the Oakland Athletics. She would sit in foul territory near the baselines to retrieve baseballs grounded foul by batters.

She used the $5.00 an hour she was paid to buy ingredients for the cookies she loved to make. She even created a milk and cookies break for the umpires. I think we all know who the favorite ball girl was!

Debbi had been baking and experimenting with recipes since was 13. She’d add more butter, use less flour, or try different kinds of chocolate – testing them on friends and family. She’d finally hit on a recipe she believed was ideal. Her cookies were soft, buttery and crammed with chocolate chips.

The people in her hometown of Oakland, California had dubbed her the Cookie Queen when she was 18.

Debbi realized she had to use her gifts, so…

She decided to open a cookie store. Every single person in her life told her it wouldn’t work. No one believed in her. They told her she didn’t have the capital, experience, or education.

It didn’t matter. The lesson she had learned at the party rang through her mind…

It was up to her to define her life.

She figured out how to create a business plan and went from bank to bank. That can be hard at any time, but women were just beginning to be taken seriously by banks in 1977 – a very few of them. Every no made her more determined to prove the banks wrong.

She finally found one willing to invest $50,000 in her dream. I wish I could have been the banker who realized the greatness that lay dormant in one determined young lady barely out of her teens!

On August 18, 1977, when Debbi was 20, she opened her first store. No one came. By noon she was desperate. She stared at the empty store and wondered if everyone had been right. She’d been crazy to believe she could be a success with cookies.

Her husband’s words rang in her ears. “You won’t make $50 on your first day selling cookies.”

It was up to her to define her life.

At some point she decided if she was going to go out of business, she wasn’t going to do it throwing a pity party for herself. She would at least do it in style.

It was up to her to define her life.

Debbi loaded up a tray of cookies and went out into her shopping arcade, trying to give away cookies. No one would take them.

It was up to her to define her life.

She figured she had nothing to lose at this point, so she headed out to the street. She begged, pleaded, and wheedled until people finally took her samples. She smiled as their faces lit up.

She went back to the store and sold cookies to the people who had followed her, wanting more. By the end of the day, she had sold $75 worth.

The rest is Cookie History. . .

Debbi Fields became the owner of over 600 stores – with sales in the multi-millions. She is also the mother of 5. She did indeed find something of her own!

She has since sold her company, but she remains involved as its spokesperson.

There have been many times in my life when people didn’t believe in my dreams. They scoffed at my plans and business ideas.

Debbi Fields taught me that it’s up to me to define my life.

It’s up to YOU, too!

You will face obstacles. You will face people who don’t believe in your dreams. So what? It’s YOUR life. It will become what YOU decide to make it.

A Bregdan Woman doesn’t let anyone stand between her and the dreams she carries in her heart.

Debbi Fields shared this in a speech she gave: “Whatever you do in your life, you have to be absolutely passionate about it.”

Debbi was passionate about cookies. Passionate about excellence. Passionate about living with no regrets.

Take some time to think about what you are passionate about. Make a list. It might be long. It might be short.

What are you MOST passionate about?

What will create the greatest joy and success in your life if you decide to do it?

What will you most regret if you don’t do it?

Right now – TODAY – you have gifts that can make a difference in how you live your life. How will you use them?

What will you do?

Go ahead. Think about it…

It’s up to you.

Whatever you do, the impact will reverberate through history. That is the power you have as a Bregdan Woman.

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What will you do to be a Bregdan Woman?

What will you do today to impact history??

We’re on this journey with you… (and have 2 FREE Gifts for you below…)

Ginny & Suess

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